A Greeting from the Chair:
Dr. Rosemary Martino

Here we are, already approaching the end of the 2024-2025 academic year – my first as Chair. It has truly been an honour to represent this incredible department at various venues within and beyond the University. 

One of our department’s main aims is to achieve excellence in education, allowing us to build a community of outstanding clinicians and exceptional researchers. To this end, I watched with delight as our students presented high-quality projects at the recent second annual SLP Research Day. The projects and the engaging way they were presented were truly exceptional. All of us in the audience—faculty, mentors, and members of our community—were smiling with pride.  

This summer, we are celebrating  a number of retirements. Ms. Antonietta Morra has been our departmental secretary for 34 years, working alongside six department chairs. Over the years, she showered us with her generous spirit and infectious smile. Mr. Mark Melchior served as the department’s business manager since 2001. Always supportive and patient, Mark helped us with our work in so many ways that went above and beyond his job description. Professor Lynn Ellwood graduated from our MHSc program in 1990 and returned to the department in 2003 as Coordinator of Clinical Education. During this time, she has made significant contributions to our educational program and has played a key role in fostering international placement opportunities for our students. Finally, Dr. Jo Deluzio retired from teaching the department’s courses on audiology and aural rehabilitation after 25 years, leaving a legacy of hundreds of SLP graduates who are better professionals because of her teaching. All four of them will be missed tremendously!  

As we prepare to turn the page to the next academic year, I look forward to continuing to celebrate all the accomplishments of our students, faculty, and alumni on our new departmental website, which we hope to launch in the fall of 2025. So please stay in touch and share your news so we can also feature you!  

In the meantime, please enjoy the articles in this first joint edition of the alumni’s Look Who’s Talking and the Departmental Student-Led Newsletter. I wish everyone a wonderful summer filled with time to recharge and reenergize!

Best,  

Rosemary Martino, PhD 

Professor and Chair